MY STORIES:

• Juan Chacon, a Mexican immigrant turned restaurant owner
• Why the Latinx community is migrating to Utah
• How a local Latinx makeup artist is transforming music into makeup 

MY BLOG:

Throughout the semester, this course has challenged and broadened my perspectives, not simply on the Latinx community, but on my role as a professional reporter. It would be bold of me to say that I was completely comfortable covering this beat. To put it bluntly, I was terrified. And for one reason only: I felt that I didn’t have the right authority or background to poke around and write these stories. Thankfully, as time went on and as I began interviewing my sources, I gained the confidence I needed to present myself and my work the way a true journalist would.

My confidence came from realizing that all beats need to be covered and not just simply from a journalist perspective with similar upbringings, but covered by all journalists. What makes a compelling story, a great story, is telling it from a different perspective, a different pair of eyes. Journalists come in all different shapes and sizes and our approach to a story or beat is what’s going to challenge and engage our readers.

As a student trying to further and expand my professional development, this experience pushed me to become a better writer, a better interviewer, a better researcher and all-in-all, a better journalist.

At first, I was a little taken aback at how timid I was asking sources for a potential interview. As a journalism student, I have interviewed dozens of people throughout the span of my college career, but these interviews were always lined up for me. Having to ask a stranger for permission to interview them caused more anxiety than I had initially anticipated going in. This class gave me the opportunity to practice seeking out interviews and feeling secure in doing so.

As for the interview itself, I am very comfortable. I have no problem posing questions and leading the interview in the direction I want it to go. There’s no better feeling than asking a question and getting an answer that lights a spark within your interviewee and uncovers some hidden truth or fascinating story. The instant gratification of question and answer is the most satisfying part of being a storyteller. I feel like Indiana Jones unearthing this great revelation.

The biggest truth I’ve dug up throughout the semester is that I’m still learning how and what it means to be a journalist. I have a long way to go and there’s no end in sight because a great journalist is a lifelong learner.

Covering this beat gave me the chance to further my development as a broadcast journalist by helping me create diverse story ideas, angles and locate non-white sources to interview. I’m excited to see what I will learn and what I will teach others from utilizing my voice as a journalist.

ABOUT ME:

Kilee Thomas ’19 is from West Jordan, Utah. Kilee graduated from University of Utah with a B.S. in Communications with an emphasis in journalism. She currently holds an internship at ABC4 news and previously held an internship for Good Things Utah. She has written published articles as a writer for HerCampus, an online magazine publication, as well as for Voices of Utah. After graduating, Kilee is hoping to become a news reporter/multi-media journalist.

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MY STORIES: 

• Losing the Latinx identity
• Dual oppression living Latinx and LGBTQ+
• Editor-in-chief in his veins 

MY BLOG:

This beat was not a far cry from topics I usually choose to write about. I will be graduating Spring 2019 with a B.S. in Gender Studies as well as Journalism. You could say that I major in social justice – if you wanted to. I tend to write about the LGBTQ+ community therefore I chose to incorporate that with the chosen beat.

While my first story is not about the LGBTQ+ community I wanted to learn more about the idea of culture within the Latinx community. I am not one who has such a rich culture and it has always fascinated me. Throughout the semester I was thrilled at the response I got from members of the LGBTQ+ and Latinx communities. Everyone was so willing to tell me their stories and it was very inspiring.

While I was reporting on this beat there were often times I felt like an “outsider.” There is this whole other beautiful community that I got to see that I hadn’t before. I prefer to be an outsider when reporting because it forces you to get the facts out. I’ve got my fair share of opinions when something is associated with the LGBTQ+ community so it’s difficult to be non-biased. When writing these stories that connected the two it was completely different. I enjoyed seeing my perspective of something with slight twist on it. It showed how similar we all are but how different our journeys are.

Over all, this semester and this beat have been a success. I furthered my education in journalism, which is ever growing. I learned so much about the Latinx community and I attained more published pieces for my resume.

ABOUT ME: 

Kara is a University of Utah student graduating in Spring 2019 with two B.S. degrees — in Communication and Gender Studies. Kara has a passion for making a positive change in the ever changing world today. Journalism assists her by making her Gender Studies degree applicable to the world.

Kara began her love for writing by reading all the Junie B. Jones novels and creating a blog in her adolescent years that dramatically explained why boys didn’t like her.

When Kara is not studying at the university she is participating in every yoga opportunity that she can. Licensed with a 200-hour YTT (Yoga Teacher Training), Kara is passionate about yoga. Music, fashion, and pop culture are other hobbies that Kara enjoys talking, writing, and speaking about. She dreams of changing the world, looks at dog videos on Instagram, and reads books she wishes to understand.

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MY STORIES: 

• Is this the place for me?: Latinx students at a predominantly white institution 
• MEChA High School Conference at the University of Utah
• Latinx businesses in the Salt Lake City area

MY BLOG: 

The biggest challenge for me was time. My car broke down at the beginning of this school year so I wasn’t able to drive anywhere, but I didn’t realize how far everything in this valley truly was. I tried to keep my stories on campus as much as possible, but it was hard as the semester progressed because students got busy with midterms and such so they didn’t have time to sit and chat with me anymore.  

Other than that major inconvenience, I enjoyed working with the beat. I am pretty active in the Latinx community so it wasn’t hard for me to find things to write about, just hard for me to get to them. I love that I was able to use the resources that I already had and put them to use.

I never felt like an “outsider” because this is a community I interact with on a daily basis. The biggest thing for me was staying unbiased and to interview new people. To be honest, I was kind of jealous of the people who aren’t part of the community as it would be easier for them to not have a conflict of interest and to meet new people. I was often racing to find people I didn’t know.

It was often hard for me to figure out what was a story because I am so engrossed in the community that everything that happens just feels like every day. It was nice, however, to be in a more comfortable space. As a woman of color, it’s hard sometimes to go into super white spaces and have them take me seriously.   

Working in this beat solidified my career goals for me. I have always loved working with communities of color and have become even more sure that it is what I want to do. I hope to use my legal degree to help people like the ones I interviewed live the lives they are entitled to.

ABOUT ME: 

Iasia Beh is a current law student at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.

A Murray, Utah, native, she graduated from the University of Utah with a BS in Communication in 2019.

Beh credits her skills in writing to not having television as a child and her interest in journalism to her father, who forced her to listen to NPR on car rides.

Beh hopes to become a public defender in the future and to one day meet Michelle Obama. She can be found on Twitter (@IasiaBeh) and on Instagram (@iasiabeh).

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MY STORIES:

• Latinxs at work: stereotyping results from a lack of sympathy
• Minorities brighten up the future of science and technology
• You are not crazy: Mental health stigma among Latinx community

MY BLOG:

Recalling the past few months, I have been through multiple challenges that I had been afraid of tackling. One of the biggest challenges was getting out of my comfort zone and making myself feel excited when I talk to new people.

As a non-native English speaker, the language barrier was one of the biggest concerns. I was scared that I might say something inappropriate, which has the potential to hurt someone who takes time for me and share their personal stories with me.

Because of this fear, I couldn’t enjoy from the bottom of my heart the times spending with the interviewees at the beginning. However, as I interviewed multiple persons who were not fluent in English like me, I was really inspired by how strong their words were. They spoke with passion no matter how difficult to speak the non-native language.

Listening to their strong voices, I came to be able to focus more on what I want to tell but not how I tell. Language is a significant tool in communication. But, more importantly, I could realize that I had to be more open to those who talk with me. As I was encouraged by those interviewees, I could find myself excited without feeling any fear when I talked to new people.

I also found difficulty in setting my own viewpoints aside. It was really tough. Since I am in the minority group as the interviewees are, I had resonance with their feelings at some point. I compared their stories with mine, which let me stand at their side. Hence, each time I finalized the drafts, I showed them to a third person so that I could see my stories from the readers’ viewpoints.

Through getting over some challenges, I could learn the basic skills of reporting, such as how to interview and how to write an eye-catching title or lead. I still have so many skills that need to be trained, but at least, I have recognized that I can get a little bit closer to be a professional journalist. I’m sure this experience will help my future self, involving in the communication field.

ABOUT ME:

I am a senior-year student majoring in communication with a journalism emphasis at the University of Utah. Meeting new people and listening to their stories always makes me feel excited and empowered. But, actually becoming a journalist was not on top of my career choices.

I used to dream of becoming an ecologist. Since I grew up around nature and animals in Japan, I have naturally desired to know more about ecology and save it from environmental destruction. I, therefore, started learning biology when I got into Shizuoka University in Japan. As I spent time in the classrooms and outside the campus, I had a lot of opportunities to see new people who inspired me in many ways. Their words showed me another world. I could talk to various researchers as well. Their stories struck me. In a series of these experiences, I came to be more motivated to seek new stories, new people, and new experiences than research. After I completed the bachelor’s degree in biology, I flew to the United States in 2017 to see the whole new world. Now, I desire to be an environment journalist.

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MY STORIES:

• Latinx populations help the US economy to thrive
• Bicultural struggles: Life in Latinx shoes
• Salt Lake City hopes to erase the school-to-prison pipeline

MY BLOG: 

News reporting is a blessing and a curse. A journalist is able to venture into the world and uncover details about subjects that interest them. They learn about politics, personal relationships, the economy, and any other hot topic. They then, however, have to take their gathered information and portray it objectively. Objectivity was difficult for me this semester. Within my first story, I wrote about the positive effects of Latinx immigration. While I know in my heart that Latin American individuals contribute to the prosperity of our country, others still believe them to be lazy, job-stealing crooks and criminals. I had to put emotions aside and show facts rather than opinions, as facts show the truth and cannot be denied. 

Everyone wants their voice to be heard, especially if you already have the platform to share it. I was ultimately able to reel back my emotions because I realized the good that would follow. Giving people interesting stories in which they could draw their own conclusions, learn something, and grow as a person was more important than furthering my own agenda. 

Biases and objectivity were even more difficult to deal with as I began to learn more about the beat. The people within the Latinx community made it a challenge to write without an opinion. I wanted so badly to display the kindness, intelligence, drive, and family-oriented hearts of the men and women I talked to. The country has been given a generally negative view of the Latinx community, so getting out and interacting with amazing people from different countries, economic classes, and mindsets was so eye-opening. The experience led me to realize that everyone should have a shot in the United States. No matter how much hate and disparity is spewed and shown on the news, the goodness in foreign groups outweighs the bad. 

During this experience, I learned to never settle into my comfort zone. While I had previous experience with the Latinx community, with my dad living in Colombia and being married to a Colombian native, I was still forced from my norm. Different cultures and individuals unlike yourself are what keep the mind growing and awake. If we stick solely with people who think, look, and act like ourselves, I believe we are more susceptible to racism, biases, and close-mindedness.

In terms of personal development throughout this semester, I made strides as well. I learned that while the reporting process is not something I am entirely passionate about, going out into the community and talking to others is something that I want to do with my career. I might end up being a target marketer trying to figure out his audience, a public relations specialist trying to relate his client company to the people, or even a politician getting to know the needs of constituents. With any outcome, I would love to stick with this idea of community engagement. I want to make connections and make a difference by giving citizens a voice. 

ABOUT ME: 

Zane Law is an Orange County, California, native. He acquired his passion for writing as he penned fantasy stories throughout his elementary and middle school days. Hoping to strike gold with the next Magic Tree House-esque series, Zane spent recess and lunch honing his craft. Anything from cinema to his midnight dreams inspired him to keep in touch with his creative flow.

While fantasy writing did not fully pan out, Zane stuck with a similar career path. In Spring 2019 he graduated with a B.S. in strategic communication, specializing in public relations and target marketing. Combined with University of Utah knowledge, his creative spark was able to produce a marketing campaign for All Seasons Resort Lodging, plan fundraisers for the ALS Association, pitch ideas to the Downtown SLC Alliance, and now publish multiple stories online. 

Getting inside the mind of consumers, citizens, and readers is something that captivates Zane. Instead of fantasy writing taking him to a world of dragons, warlocks, and dinosaurs, he is able to escape into the life of someone else. Studying spending habits, likes and dislikes, political views, and daily schedules amounts to something of a game for Zane. He is passionate about what he does and will continue his communications journey for many years to come. 

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MY STORIES:

• Hispanic immigrants are creative and family-inspired
• Kids need more Latinx role models in Utah, and here’s why 
• Community and inclusion in art – Latin social dancing in Utah

MY BLOG: 

One of the things I have enjoyed the most were the opportunities that allowed me to meet new people in the community and hear their stories. I would have never met them or heard their stories if it weren’t for this opportunity. I enjoyed learning more about food, arts, and education in the Latino community by speaking with these influential people.

There are a few ways that I feel like I failed at being a good journalist. By the end of the semester, however, I saw these failures as chances to grow and learn. I have learned to be open, more assertive, and confident when approaching people in different fields of communication, which is a necessary skill for any professional storyteller.

I love to write and tell stories. However, I have learned that my calling is visual storytelling. I am so thankful for the skills that I have learned in this class that will help me pursue that calling. Gathering information, along with communication and interview skills, will be helpful as I pursue a documentary film career and continue as a full-time photographer and videographer in the Salt Lake area.

Although I do not plan to be a news writer or journalist, I am thankful for the writing opportunities that Voices of Utah has given me. I feel like I have new eyes to see how news writing is a valuable skill and have grown to have a deeper appreciation for this field of writing. I was challenged to be open to different writing skills while keeping my style and voice. Writing for Voices of Utah has taught me how these two things, new methods, and personal style, actually thrive together.

After graduation, I hope to continue working on the craft of writing through a personal blog and by writing for a nonprofit.

ABOUT ME:

Kristen Law is graduating from the University of Utah in May 2019 with a BA in Communication and a minor in Documentary Film Studies. She loves telling stories through different media outlets, and, although she loves to write, her greatest passion is to capture moments and tell stories through videography and photography. In her spare time when she is not writing or taking photos, she is a ballet teacher, a dedicated runner, and an adventurer at heart. She loves traveling, hiking, backpacking, and being outdoors, mostly because she loves photographing beautiful landscapes and places.

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MY STORIES:

• Finding success marketing in the Hispanic segment: Google Translate is not enough
• Is Latinx the new norm? Navigating the landscape of inclusive speech in 2019
• Utah may be next to experience a physician crisis

MY BLOG:

Expectations

In all honesty, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the beat that we were assigned this year. It was outside my realm of experience and finding a story to tell that would resonate seemed in and of itself to be a somewhat daunting task.

My initial expectation was that there would be a lot of low-hanging fruit, so to speak. That is, a lot of obvious commentary and discussion on the headline-worthy topics that dominate the media today. What I found, though, was quite the opposite.

The beat gave me the opportunity to think about life from a completely different lens and step into the shoes of a subculture that I understand well, but can’t fully empathize with considering my background.

I was never under the impression that the label Hispanic meant that one was grouped into a cohort of intensely similar values or beliefs, but working on the beat really highlighted the philosophical and practical points of diversity within the community. A recurring theme of my interviews was that there’s a constant assumption of homogeneity that can often be invalidating in its own right.

Career Understanding

From a career standpoint, I cemented my belief that journalism is no longer a serious professional pursuit as it once was for me. While it had nothing to do with the beat itself, what I once found invigorating and interesting about the profession became more monotonous than anything.

While I understand that the element of school adds an extra layer to unpack in this conversation, it’s a realization I’ve been coming to for some time, especially in the past several years that I’ve been diving further into marketing.

I love breaking rules with my content and more importantly I love analysis and opinion; beat reporting has a lot less flexibility in these areas. That’s for good reason of course, but I just don’t find that kind of writing enjoyable the way I used to.

Social Awareness

This beat gave me an interesting political perspective. It’s pretty commonly understood at this point that we are living in a very divisive political climate. It would be ignorant to assume this isn’t a struggle in many areas of the world, but still, its recent exacerbation makes it easier to see the problem as uniquely American, or most prevalent within our majority culture.

Especially when digging into things like the term Latinx, I started to see a lot of that same division among American subcultures, as well as internationally. It’s easy to fall into the trap where, because you’re focusing on a single group or school of thought, you start to think one-dimensionally about it. Working on this beat kicked me out of that mentality quite a bit.

ABOUT ME:

Writing has always been at the center of my professional and personal pursuits (as well as a stellar outlet for my sarcastic proclivities). While it was limited to a long-standing creative interest in my earlier years, I found ways to slowly start integrating my passion into a variety of endeavors; I dipped my toes into music journalism, political op-eds, and eventually marketing content and copywriting.

Eventually, the lattermost undertaking stuck and I found myself diving into the digital marketing realm as a full-time career. Further, I ended up knee deep in the beauty industry twice in a row, and haven’t gone back since.

I am soon to be graduating with a Communication B.S. at the University of Utah (the obvious extension of my poli-sci A.S.) and look forward to never cranking out an essay at the 11th hour ever again.

In my personal life, I devote insane amounts of time to travel and music. I’m in an independent band from Utah called Larusso that tours semi-regularly around the western United States, and am constantly second-guessing my song mixes during production.

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MY STORIES: 

• Making a difference: The Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Why Latinx representation in leadership roles is important for the success of Latinx children
• The cultural significance of soccer in the Latinx community

MY BLOG: 

My initial expectations of my beat were that it was going to be difficult to find stories that would match up to the beat. I was nervous that I wasn’t going to be able to get interesting stories because honestly I was kind of blind to the subject. My expectations definitely changed throughout the semester. By the time we had to pitch our story ideas for outside story three, I had numerous story ideas to choose from. It seemed that after our first guest speaker came to our class and spoke, the story ideas came more easily and made it so I could pick an interesting story that I was excited to write about.

My beat has taught me so much, mainly that the Latinx community is full of hard-working, interesting people who really try to make a difference in their community. Whether it is through politics, sports, or just by working hard, the Hispanic/Latino (a) (x) beat is full of interesting stories and people.

A few epiphanies that I have had about a career in journalism is that it is not easy, and you really have to work to make your story a readable interesting story. Writing has always come easy to me, so when I was struggling with my initial story I was kind of taken aback, but through perseverance and applying feedback that I received, my stories improved. I was sort of surprised by how persistent you have to be with certain sources. There were a few sources whom I had to reach out to multiple times to get a quote from. And at times it was more work to try to get them as a source. But being persistent helped in the end and I was able to get some solid quotes. I also learned that I can persevere through tough times and tough stories. This class has actually made me work my tail off to achieve the success that I want, and in doing so it showed me that even when times are tough and it seems that your story is going nowhere, to stick with it and in the end it will be worth it.

Beat reporting has helped my professional development by making me think outside the box. In most of my journalism classes up to this point, I chose stories that appealed to me and I didn’t really care if it appealed to other people. Our beat made it so I couldn’t just have my go-to stories. Rather, it made me think of ideas that I would have never thought of otherwise. This will help me as I move forward in my career and as a writer. The most difficult part of being a professional communicator is trying to give the person you are writing about a proper voice that represents them fully. At times it is nerve-racking, but as I got to my third story and was interviewing my sources, I felt extremely confident in giving them a voice that I feel they would appreciate.

ABOUT ME: 

Tyson Aldridge is a multimedia journalist with aspirations to be a radio journalist. Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, Tyson has always had a passion for storytelling. Whether it was captivating his family by telling them made-up stories at the dinner table, or sharing sports news that he heard on ESPN, he has always loved getting people’s attention through storytelling.

In 2015, Tyson started at the University of Utah with a vision of making it into the radio industry one day. He majored in communication with an emphasis in journalism, and his radio passion grew even deeper after taking a radio journalism class.

Recently, Tyson landed in internship with ESPN 700 in downtown Salt Lake City, for the “Gunther and Ben” show on weekday afternoons. He hopes that this internship turns into a full-time position to get his foot in the door of the radio industry.

Tyson graduated from the University of Utah in May 2019, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication.

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MY STORIES:

• Community, stereotypes and culture: Three Hispanics share their stories
• Pride, success and accomplishments: Three Hispanic influencers share their stories
• The sound and taste of Hispanic culture — Utah Hispanic Heritage Parade

MY BLOG:

At the beginning of the semester, I was a little worried when Professor Mangun announced that we would be covering the Hispanic, Latino(a), Latinx community. Since I had no connections towards the Hispanic community in Utah, I knew that it was going to be a difficult task that I had to overcome.

When I started my first story, I expected many people within the community would not be welcoming to interviews. Reaching out and interviewing people was my biggest concern. But that expectation changed as I started to reach out and got more interviews than I expected. By meeting and talking to several people, I was able to not only learn more about the community but also connect with their experiences. I met many people who inspired me and I also made friends through this class.

Another important skill that I learned is going out of my comfort zone and reaching people to get stories for my beat. I was really afraid and worried that people would reject or ignore me but I came to learn that it is OK to get rejected. The refusals for interviews have made me realize that journalists should always be prepared and have a plan B. Along with when I first started conducting interviews, I could not help but feel like an “outsider.” Although I tried my best to relate and make the interviewees comfortable and open up, I was not identifying with them a hundred percent. At first, not being relatable was frustrating but I realized that by embracing being an outsider, I was able to present a more objective point of view. I further learned that I did not have to be an insider to relate with the interviewees because it opened the doors to learning other cultures and views.

All the experiences I had throughout the semester helped my professional development as a journalist. I have gained many skills that are needed to be a professional journalist. I was not only able to get out of my comfort zone but also grow personally by questioning my ethics and credibility. Through my personal growth, I was able to be more comfortable in my own writing and gain confidence. I am really glad that I had the chance to experience real-life journalism. The real-life experience will help as I continue writing in the field of journalism. The skills that I have developed and obtained have prepared myself for when I graduate and start in the field of communication. But most importantly, I was able to learn more about myself and what I am capable of as being a storyteller.

ABOUT ME:

Being from South Korea, Lina is studying communication at the University of Utah. She started to get interested in the field of journalism during her sophomore year of high school. As she got her first experience with being on her high school’s weekly news team, her passion for journalism grew and she decided to learn further about communication.

Starting from the fall of 2016 until now, Lina has been involved in communication internships, worked as a writing center tutor, and more. Through her experiences, she has been able to improve and gain confidence in her own writing. As she approaches her graduation in the summer of 2019, she aspires to pursue her career in journalism as well as public relations and marketing.

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MY STORIES:

• DREAMers at the U: One step to graduation
• What you think about when you think about Latin food
• Am I Latinx? Or am I Black? What if I’m both?

MY BLOG: 

I am writer, that much is a given to someone like myself. I speculate, make suggestions, theorize and begin the deep excavation for stories around me. I am a conversationalist, that much is a given to anyone who talks to me. I love bringing new ideas to the table, debating, agreeing with another. I am a journalist, that much is a given, to someone who has gone through this course and came out of it as a stronger, independent writer.

I walked into class with no expectations. I was an open book, you could say. I knew that there were some political tensions within the Latinx community in the U.S but I felt this wasn’t something I should cover. There was sense of deeper understanding of the community that needed to be heard of. But I struggled to find a topic to cover initially, because I was so unfamiliar with the dynamics of the different communities in this country.

My first story is about the stigma of immigration with the Latinx community. It was something I’ve never heard or read about before, and it prompted to look further into it. When I posted the story on my Twitter, a lot of people had retweeted and liked the story. One person had commented that it was a great piece on an important topic. This propelled me to pursue writing stories of unheard voices or dispelling misconceptions about this particular group of people.

For my second story, I knew I wanted to write an article on culture. And I thought food would be a good way to start a conversation on the diversity of Latin American countries. It also helped me connect with my sources more as we shared food, ideas, and pleasant exchanges of what reminds us of home. There wasn’t a disconnect and tension that I felt from my first story, but more of a mutual understanding with my sources by our love for food. As a Filipino, I found comfort in recognizing the similarities of our culture, like I was hearing the experiences of some extended family of mine.

My final story draws on the experiences of Afro-Latinas. It’s a more interpersonal story that talks about social issues within the Latinx community such as colorism and struggling to identify with either communities in the U.S. One of my sources had thanked me for doing a story on this because she felt it was important that people know about this. It really got me thinking, “my work has impact.” Actual tangible impact that possibly affect real-life people. I was getting to the bottom of something here, but the more I researched, the more I felt I was just scratching the surface of this community. My words aren’t taken in face-value as another student assignment, but a life-lesson for myself and my readers too.

My journey through this course has been a thorough learning experience, not just in my experience as a journalist, but also social issues that needed to be addressed. There were countless struggles I went through, scurrying for sources to interview, or scheduling them and having it postponed till my due date. It taught me to value time, and consider being flexible and resourceful.

More than anything, this course has taught me a great deal about a distant but familiar community. I enjoyed bouncing ideas off with my colleagues, sharing, and critiquing their work. Their work collects real-life problems and participates in this continuous conversation on the Latinx community.

Not only did this class leave me with invaluable skills in the world of news, journalists, editors and the press. It also connected me to different people, sparked a new sense of social justice, and recultivated my love for writing. I am a writer, that much is a given.

ABOUT ME:

I had my first love at 8 years old, when I read a book called “The Book of Everything.” It’s the story of Thomas, a boy much like myself, who saw all things good and bad, but never said anything about it. Instead he wrote it down. And in that book there’s a quote that Thomas always used to say — “When I grow up, I am going to be happy.” And I still hope for it to this day.  

As a University of Utah graduate, I was able to explore my interests and learn holistically about many things from fake news to the cultural language of yoga. As this chapter of my life closes, what I hope for in the next few years in my career is cultivation. I believe there is much room for me to grow in all aspects, from my writing and content creation to communication and leadership skills. Personally, I hope to learn more about my own culture and ethnic identity of both India and the Philippines. Perhaps, this chapter of education is never its own end, but a means to a good future.

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